Once you have birthed your placenta/whenua and the membranes that surrounded baby, your midwife will check them over to make sure that it is complete and nothing has been left behind. Once that is done, you can choose what happens to your placenta.
Traditionally, Māori in Aotearoa have taken their whenua to a place special to their whanau and buried it, whenua ki te whenua. This practice is widely supported in facilities in Aotearoa, with many whānau taking their whenua home with them.
Facilities also have the capacity to dispose of your whenua if you do not want to take it with you.
If you do want to keep your whenua, only some facilities have the capacity to put it in a fridge for you – so you may want to arrange someone to take it home and refrigerate or freeze it until you are ready to care for it. It will be given to you well-packaged so that you can safely store it until you are ready for it.